


It's not rocket science

by UrsaeMinoris



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (will be relevant later), Alien Culture, Awkwardness, Canon Universe, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Food descriptions, Getting Together, Ice Cream, Implied Sheith, Love Confessions, Season 8 Doesn't Exist, matchmaker matt holt, tags will be updated but rating should stay the same, the rest of the team is there too but don't play a major role
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-07-25 13:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20026276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrsaeMinoris/pseuds/UrsaeMinoris
Summary: Spending a lot of time through thick and thin during their adventures in space, and passionate about the same things, Hunk and Pidge have become very close. And they're slowly starting to realize their feelings for each other.----Matt groaned. That stopped the bickering and the two paladins turned to him:"Please don’t flirt while I’m here..." he pleaded. They both got wide eyed and a little flushed."Matt!" protested Pidge, while Hunk was stammering "Wait, wait, wait! It’s not like that".Matt sighed. "I know what double modulation arguments mean in the Holt family.""Just because Mom and Dad used to do that doesn’t mean we’re the same!" insisted Pidge. The redness of her cheeks said otherwise.Matt rolled his eyes. "Well, there’s double modulation arguments and… double modulation arguments. Are Shiro and Keith contagious, or something?"





	1. Double Modulation arguments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LittleWhiteTie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleWhiteTie/gifts).

> For [LittleWhiteTie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleWhiteTie). Thank you for the prompt!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is set around s4 / s5, before Bloodlines.
> 
> Matt has spent some time with Pidge and Hunk and he is starting to get tired.

"I still think single modulation would be just fine for this!" Hunk grumbled, sitting on the ground in their lab and fumbling with the biorythm detector they were trying to improve.

"Double modulation is always more stable, and you know it!" retorted Pidge. She elbowed him playfully, before returning to the computer on her lap, hastily typing code away.

"Well, I don’t see the need to make this more complicated. I know you’re so clever that it doesn’t change anything for you, but..." started Hunk, but Pidge cut him immediately:

"You’re just as clever as I am!"

Matt groaned. That stopped the bickering and the two paladins turned to him:

"Please don’t flirt while I’m here..." he pleaded. They both got wide eyed and a little flushed.

"Matt!" protested Pidge, while Hunk was stammering "Wait, wait, wait! It’s not like that".

Matt sighed. "I know what double modulation arguments mean in the Holt family."

"Just because Mom and Dad used to do that doesn’t mean we’re the same!" insisted Pidge. The redness of her cheeks said otherwise.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Well, there’s double modulation arguments and… double modulation arguments. Are Shiro and Keith contagious, or something?"

Pidge and Hunk got immediately silent, and exchanged an uneasy look. Just a few dobashes earlier, Matt had asked if those two had had a fight, confused to see Keith away with the Blades. Pidge and Hunk had explained that things were complicated at the moment, but that there _was_ an ongoing bet within the team about whether or not they were already dating.

Pidge took a deep breath, pushing up her glasses in a more stable position. She sometimes joked about how oblivious Shiro and Keith were, but Matt was right, she was not better. It was time to be brave. "Actually, Hunk, I wasn’t being honest. It _is_ a bit like that for me." Her gaze fell on her laptop again, without really focusing on it. "It’s fine if you don’t reciprocate. We can still be friends."

" Woah, Pidge, wait,  I didn’t  even get to answer!" Hunk sound ed panicked at first, but as Pidge look ed him in the eyes with unusual shyness, his voice steadie d and bec a me  more  earnest. "It’s like that for me too, you know?  You’re an awesome friend, but also … I can’t imagine my life without you, Pidge."

M att whistle d under his breath . He got  up awkwardly, stretched, and  rested his hands behind his neck in  a  movement that was meant to look  way  more casual than it did. "I… should go see if Coran need s help with the teleduv." He left the room, quickly.

H unk cleared his throat nervously. "Sooo… does that mean we’re together now, or something?"  He smiled hopefully.

"I guess so." Pidge shrugged and scooted over to sit closer to him,  leaning against his side. It wasn’t the first time they sat like that, but it still felt new. 

Carefully, Hunk, wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "That’s nice," he concluded, quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it!


	2. Ice-cream in space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is set just after Bloodlines. Sam Holt left for Earth, and Voltron is allied with Lotor. The Garrison trio had a lot of fun at Lotor's HQ.

Visiting Lotor's headquarters had been exciting, but also quite exhausting. They all needed their downtime, and in this evening, the Castle was quiet. Hunk had retreated to the kitchen, and had occupied himself with this project involving both mechanics and a bit of cuisine.

He dipped a spork in the mixture, and tasted it. A big smile spread on his face; sure, there were ways to improve the next batch, but this was already quite delicious! Time to share it with Pidge. He took the metallic bowl and two sporks, and went in direction of her room.

\----

Pidge sighed, and pushed her glasses up to rub her tired eyes. At that moment, the door of her room opened with a woosh. Hunk was standing there, carrying a metallic bowl on a tray. "Can I come in?"

She stretched. "Sure." He entered the room and sat next to her. His big smile had already washed away the nervousness she had accumulated from the frustrations of recent events. "So," she wondered aloud, "are you going to tell me what's in this bowl?"

"Ice-cream!" he replied happily.

"Ice-cream again?" she asked.

"Wait, this has nothing to to with what I did on Lotor's base. That was just frozen food goo."

She shrugged. "It was still nice."

"Yeah, yeah, but this is way better!" he protested. "I built a decent ice cream maker, and I used Kaltenecker's milk and Olkari honey. The texture is not quite as creamy as I wanted, but it's a good start! I thought you might want to taste it."

"That sounds like something I need to try!" She grinned mischievously. "For science!"

Hunk laughed. "Yeah, exactly, for science! I need to know if my experiment is conclusive!" He sat next to her, scooped some ice-cream with the spork, and handed it to her.

Pidge took the spoon, and gestured playfully with it: "Let's set the hypothesis first!" She examined the ice-cream, adjusting her glasses, feigning solemnity. "The appearance is promising; we should take into account that, even if this is a first attempt...it is a first attempt by Hunk. Also, this is ice-cream! And I like Olkari honey!"

She did, and it was exactly why Hunk had chosen that flavor. He twitched nervously. "Ok, but don't wait too long before eating, or it will start melting and lose it's texture!"

Pidge scoffed. "So, I set the hypothesis that this will be good!" She licked the ice-cream from the spork for a first taste; the sweetness and richness of the honey, combined with the fluffy texture of the cream, and the cold, was such a strong combination that her tongue tingled as if she could feel her taste buds being overwhelmed. And after the bland food goo that was the base of their meals, unless Hunk cooked or baked something, the saturation of sensations from the ice-cream was something new. She ate the rest of the content of the spork; it was a firework in her mouth. It tasted like home, like childhood, but it was far better than the industrial ice-creams she ate as a kid; at the same time, the Olkari honey tasted like space travel and adventure, and self-discovery. She hadn't expected eating ice-cream to be such an astounding experience, and she hadn't been ready for it. She found herself blinking to try to keep her eyes from tearing up too much. "Oh my gush, Hunk? This is amazing!"

He booped her nose. "Thanks!" He sat closer to her, and she immediately settled down against him, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here. Everything's changing so fast. Sometimes it's hard to keep up."

Hunk groaned. "Yeah yeah, that's right. Like, I still miss Keith? It's weird without him and I'm always worried something happens to him. The Blades… they go on those dangerous missions all the time!"

Pidge let out a distressed sigh. "Yeah, I know! And I finally find my Dad, and he's in a bad state but alive. And as soon as he's recovered, he has to go again!" Her throat was getting tight in frustration.

Hunk put his arm around her shoulders, gently patting her arm in an attempt of comfort. "Yeah, that sucks. Hey, want some more ice-cream? Before it melts."

She took a spoonful of ice-cream and let it slowly dissolve on her tongue. "Mmmmh. This is so good". She looked back at Hunk, who was smiling wistfully. "You want some?"

Hunk nodded, and reached out his hand to get the spork, but instead she got it full of ice-cream and held it up to his face. Hunk felt himself flush, but either she didn't pay attention, or she was being stubborn, because she did not budge.

"Hunk?"

He opened his mouth, embarrassed, and she shoved the spork in. His ice-cream was pretty successful indeed. "And now, we've sided with Lotor..." he added thoughtfully.

"Yeah."

"That's nuts, right? Who would have thought that, like, a month ago? Or even a week?"

She noticed he was using Earth time measurement units; he tended to do so when he was nostalgic from home."Yeah," she repeated. She ate another spoonful of ice-cream, then fed one to Hunk.

"What were you working on?"

She chuckled, and adjusted her glasses. "Oh, this? Just a personal project. As we all have finished Killbot Phantasm I, I was trying to program another game. Some kind of race with the lions. I can't draw so basically we just move those colored shapes…"

"Wow, Pidge, that's so cool!"

She smiled proudly. "Yeah! Well I probably won't have time to finish it, but it keeps me busy. Now that I don't have to search for my family."

Hunk could definitely relate. Sometimes he needed to keep his mind busy to avoid getting anxious at everything that was going on, too. "Hey, programming isn't my strong suit but if you need help…"

"I'll ask you! Thanks, Hunk!" Nothing was better than seeing her happy.

They sat together a while, savoring the ice-cream in silence. After they finished eating, they sat some more, Pidge resting her head against Hunk's shoulder again, Hunk's arm loosely around her waist. She looked up at him, a fond smile on her lips. "Hypothesis confirmed!"

Hunk blinked. "Hu, what?"

"My hypothesis. That the ice-cream would be good. Confirmed!"

Hunk beamed proudly, his cheeks reddening a little. "Thank you, Pidge!"

He was cute when he was smiling and a bit flustered like that. There was a little bit of ice-cream on the corner of his mouth. "You've got something there!" She brushed his cheek with her hand to collect it, and licked it off her fingers. When she looked up again, Hunk had turned deep red. She snorted. And then she went for a kiss. Because they were dating, weren't they? That's the sort of thing you do, when you date?

Hunk was startled at first, but very happy to kiss back. The kiss was tender and sweet and tasted like...well, like olkari honey ice-cream.

When they parted, they silently looked each other in the eyes for a bit, until they both started smiling. Pidge got back in her position, cuddling against Hunk.

Hunk sighed. "You know, its true, times are complicated and… and weird, and scary right now. But I'm glad I'm spending those times with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this second chapter!
> 
> If your have read my first (Hunk-centric) fanfic,"While some count sheep"  you might have heard about Olkari honey before!


	3. A peaceful evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This happens in the first part of season 7, after Krolia's departure. The team has landed on a friendly alien planet for restock and repairs. They get some time off to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for Hidge week 2019, for the day 3 prompt: date night!

Hunk closed the metallic panel and patted it fondly. Blue looked down at him, giving a little nod as if to thank him. Hunk smiled at her. “You're as good as new, Blue!” He stretched and yawned. “I'm done with the repairs, Coran!”

“And I'm done with analyzing the data collected by the Lions.” added Pidge. “According to my calculations, we can continue following the same course. Do you want to take a look?”

“This is something we can all discuss tomorrow. Why don't you take some time to rest? Today's work is done, and the night is still young.”

Shiro smiled. “We all could use some down time.”

Allura, who had been sitting with Lance and Romelle, stood up and joined her hands. “The Ebrilians are welcoming, and the city of Ytrep is known for its beauty. Our hosts encouraged us to visit it, so anyone interested shoud do so.”

Keith crossed his arms. He seemed tense, but he spoke softly. “We were told the city is safe, and there were no incidents while re-stocking. Civilian clothe will make it easier to fit in. But stay alert, and keep your comms with you. We are Paladins of Voltron, and could be targeted by anyone wanting to sell us to the Galra Empire.”

Hunk shivered. Way to ruin the mood! He couldn't blame Keith for being careful, but now he was unsure if he still wanted to visit the town. Too bad. It had seemed nice enough, and there were a place or two that he had been wanting to return to. He exchanged a look with Pidge.

“You want to go?” she asked. She spoke in a way that was meant to be detached, but she wasn't good at hiding her hopeful expression. All his hesitations melted away.

“When Coran and I were shopping for food, I noticed this cute little place. Some kind of café or tearoom. Not sure if they're still open at this hour, but…the pastries on display looked delicious.”

“I trust you on this, Hunk” Pidge replied with a half smile. “Sounds like a plan!”

“Sounds like a date!” teased Lance.

Hunk rubbed his neck, feeling his ears grow hot. “Well, you know, it's like… you can't...”

Much to his embarrassment, Lance sat up, eyes widening. “Wait… You're not denying?”

That somehow managed to get everyone's attention, and Shiro, Keith, Allura, Romelle, Coran, all looked in their direction. Hunk felt his brain fill with static. They hadn't told anyone about their relationship yet, and Matt had kept his mouth shut. Now he was blundering spectacularly. Everyone had expressions of surprise or amusement. Keith and Shiro exchanged a look, smirking.

Lance leaned forward, squinting suspiciously. “Huunk?”

“Oh, shut up Lance. Mind your own business.” Pidge snapped. She patted Hunk's arm and he turned to her. She was frowning, determined. “Let's go.”

That warmed Hunk's heart, and he felt strength come back to his numb body, as if her support had reignited his quintescence. He smiled and she smiled back at him. It felt like time had stopped and everything around ceased to exist.

“Hunk?” she asked. Her voice brought him back to reality.

“Yeah yeah I'm coming.” They walked away, ignoring the whispers behind them.

\---

They took Green's speeder to get to the city.

The sun was slowly coming closer to the horizon, but they had still a few hours of daylight. Ebril was on the outskirts of the Empire, so far away that, akin to Earth, it had never been colonized by the Galra. The Rebels had found them first and had formed an alliance with the planet, establishing headquarters there and helping with protection.

The city of Ytrep was all white domes out of some translucent material and red dust streets filled with aliens from all over the universe. Hunk guided Pidge towards the café he had in mind, only noticing after a while that they were holding hands somehow.

The café was established in a small dome nested under a gigantic tree; the smooth, purple trunk twisted gracefully and finished in a crown of branches forming spiral-like patterns and bearing long, bluish leaves. The building's walls were completely transparent and slightly iridescent. Inside, small white tables and seats were surrounded with plants; wines were growing up the inside of the facade. It looked like a soap bubble used as a greenhouse.

“It's… beautiful” sighed Pidge.

“It reminded me of you”, admitted Hunk. After their visit to Olkarion, Pidge had started collecting plants from the places they visited, and growing them in a special place from the Castle. Coran had assisted her with this project, and Hunk had collaborated too, growing herbs, vegetables and fruits to have fresh food on board. They had lost most of it when the Castle was destroyed, aside from a few potted aromatics that Hunk had saved.

“Oh, Hunk.” There were tears in her eyes.

Woops. He didn't expect her to get that emotional. He squeezed her hand gently, and landed a peck on her nose, earning a chuckle from her.“Wait to see their pastries,”he suggested, pointing at the display. There, set on translucent shelves, were arranged hills of cakes, forests of multicolored cones-shaped delicacies, clouds of creamy mousse, lakes of pies covered in jewel-like fruits, cities of delicate rolls.

Pidge leapt in excitement. “They look amazing! We have to go in”. Pulling him by his hand, she guided them through the entrance.

An Ebrolian, all dressed in white, came to greet them. Their pink exoskeleton displayed elegant decorative paints of blue leaves, matching the leaves of the big tree towering above the tearoom.

They invited them to sit at a small, white table. Around them, white pillars were supporting potted plants, their blue leaves and orange flowers cascading down. They could see outside, the sun getting down over the city's skyline, it's rays filtering through the big tree's foliage above them.

They didn't know anything on the menu, so, on their waiter's advice, they took the most popular hot beverage. It turned out to be made of the sap of a specific plant, mixed with fruit juices. Hunk appreciated it's creamy texture and rich taste, with notes of dark chocolate, coconut, and roasted chestnuts. Pidge was delighted with it as well. They also both took pastries, which they shared. They were intricate in their combination of savors and textures. Hunk's one was green and had fluffy layers alternating with more crispy ones, associating citrus-like taste and more herby accents. Pidge's one was a pouch filled with cream, flowery flavors with a honey aftertaste.

They talked about small things, avoiding topics like the war and the state of the Earth. They discussed space science, the planets they discovered, the various cultures they came across, the things they learned.

When they were done, they went for a walk, admiring the city. The domes were reflecting the changing colors of the sky, pinks and purples and golds and blues. The streets were still busy, but there was a relaxed atmosphere. People of all kind of origins were walking or discussing in small groups, children were playing, multicolored scaly creatures were flying around and being fed by locals, and the vehicles used inside the city were mostly small and quiet. It was hard to believe that this place was involved in a war. They had rarely in their travels come across places that seemed that peaceful.

After a while, they took the speeder again and found the rest of the team where the Lions were still sitting. They had set up a campfire and were sitting around it, talking quietly. They greeted them when they joined them, but this time no one made any undesirable comment.

The night had fallen, and the sky was spangled with stars. The planet's big, blue moon was full, casting a celestial light on everything. Pidge sat huddled against him, her body heat keeping him warm against the chillness of the air. The flames were dancing a hypnotic dance, and the team's discussion had fallen into a comfortable silence. Hunk closed his eyes, wishing for this moment to last forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you had fun with this chapter! Let me know what you thought of it!  
Comments of any length and kudos are really appreciated!!!
> 
> You can also read it:  
here on tumblr: <https://ursae-minoris-world.tumblr.com/post/187373701583/a-peaceful-evening>  
here on pillowfort: <https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/817651>  
and find it here on twitter: <https://twitter.com/UrsaeMinoris2/status/1167429809930219520>

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!  
There are 2 upcoming chapers.
> 
> Kudos and comments of any length make me really happy!!!
> 
> Let me know what you thought, here, on twitter at <https://twitter.com/UrsaeMinoris2> or on tumblr at <https://ursae-minoris-world.tumblr.com/>!


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